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I just started to write a comment, and then before finishing it I decided I didn't really want to comment. To my surprise, there seemed to be no way to stop commenting other than:

  • Post the comment then immediately delete it.
  • Refresh the page.

Is there a hidden Cancel New Comment button that I'm just not seeing?

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  • 2
    If you don't click "Add Comment", you haven't "said" it. The now-deleted answer of "just don't click it" has worked for me for over the past year.
    – Gnome
    Commented Jun 1, 2010 at 6:59
  • Note also that if you were a new user, asking a question, all comment areas under each answer would be opened by default. So it really is not a big deal, you are only "opening" the place to put a comment.
    – Gnoupi
    Commented Jun 1, 2010 at 8:09
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    I personally prefer pressing ESC - less design clutter and still intuitive enough.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jan 31, 2015 at 23:45

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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There is no need to. Just browse away to another page.

All functions still work, even if the comment field is open. You can even comment on other answers.

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I would like to argue that it would be nice to have this.

The same exact things above can be said for when you're editing a comment "Simply navigate away from the page" and it won't be saved... but we do have a "cancel" button for editing a comment.

It seems that, for consistency, it would be nice if the cancel button were always there.

Personally, I often hit the "add a comment" link accidentally instead of the "edit" link and the system doesn't seem to mind that both are open concurrently but it still seems odd to me that the "edit" function has a "cancel" link but the "add" does not.

If I'm not finished with the page, being able to close the text area would be nice. And, clearly, the link is already in the code somewhere, as it's already active for edits.

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Note that there isn't a Cancel for Post Your Answer either.

Delete the comment text if you want to help ensure nothing gets posted and, as S.Mark said before it was deleted, just don't click Add Comment.

(I have an open comment waiting when I click Post Your Answer -- just testing... EDIT: It was ignored.)

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    note that there are two different "Add Comment" buttons: the first is the "add comment" (lower case) link that gets you the comment input box; the second is the "Add Comment" (includes upper case) button next to the comment input box that actually posts the comment. the second one is what people are referring to when they say "just don't click it".
    – quack quixote
    Commented Jun 1, 2010 at 7:08
  • @quackquixote Also note that when the comments have been compressed, the "add comment" becomes "add / show <n> more comment[s]" and, when you click on it for whatever reason, the "Add Comment" button is sitting there waiting, just like when you decide to not complete a comment.
    – Mark Hurd
    Commented Jun 1, 2010 at 7:42

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